Assistance Required

b3n

New to all this so bear with me,

About 4 yers ago i started training in the gym when i was just gone 18. I started just with the tread mills and bike but moved onto the weights machines and bench presses but stayed clear of the free weights. I beefed up considerably, i keeped up the running and bike so my fitness as a whole was great. At this stage i had just broken up out of a relationship so i had really gotten into it and was going 4 days a week, i was addicted.

Now where this leaves me at the moment;

I dont attend the gym as often , lucky if i make it once a month now and i dont commit to running as much. With taking on an extra nixer etc i just dont have the time!

I am a member of ALSAA which doesnt have the best trainer / assistance on offer and it is often over packed etc. Basiclly the mass muscle i had built a couple of years ago has subsided now and im left with sagging pecks and a bit of a bloated belly. On the fitness front i do feel i can still run fairly well when required.

My question (without bending your ear further!) is the following;

I would be interested in getting back to training but i know when i had done it a couple years ago i really did a DIY job, went like crazy at the weights with out thinkin of the longterm consequences etc.

Does anyone have any guides / tips / reccomended programs that would help me out. At 22 i just dont want to let my shape get out of control and start lookin like a 50+ man before my time


Sorry if this is unclear of long winded.

Thanks

Cravez

It's good to hear your getting back into training . For weight training i would consider using free weights this time, machine weights should not take up or should be the "core" of your weights training. Since you used a bench before that is good also, you probably beefed up the most using the bench. Machine weights are inferior to free weights (in my opinion) because they are supported by cables, therefore while your muscles stress while either pushing OR pulling on machine weights usually not both, using free weights can stress the muscles that both use pushing or pulling mechanism. When using free weights you should use heavy weights i.e 3-6 reps with 3 sets. Doing free weight execises combined with a good diet and you should bulk up considerably.

As for fitness, all i could recommend is that you do little or no cardio on a weights day. Just get interested in somthing, hopefully soon im going to start kickboxing and doing swimming and running to get my fitness levels up.

Im pretty sure many people on this boards will give you plenty of advice but that was my two cents to help you (if it was any help ).

Good luck with it anyway.
Cravez

PJG

Michael Cravez wrote:

For weight training i would consider using free weights this time, machine weights should not take up or should be the "core" of your weights training. Machine weights are inferior to free weights (in my opinion) because they are supported by cables,

Solid advice,

Machine weights are OK to start out on and are good if you want to force out a few extra reps without a spotter. Example if you’re finishing your chest routine with dumbbell flyes then jump on the pec machine where you could force out a couple of extra reps. Free weights force more muscle groups to work, help build your stabilizing muscles and smaller connecting muscles. I know I keep saying this in other treads but ‘we’re only as strong as our weakest link’.

Also think about how long you’re taking for the repetition – try different strategies.

Example for your bench press try the following for 3 weeks
Power up using 1 second (don’t lock out the elbows).
Lower taking 4 seconds .

Then change to
Push up using 4 seconds.
Lower taking 5 seconds.

By changing ever few weeks you’ll be adding a new stress to the muscle group and your body should react by growing bigger and stronger.

Cheers